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FY 2015 Funding and Operating Guidelines National Research Service and Career Development Awards

National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institutes of Health

ISSUED: February 2015

GOALS

The NHLBI will continue to apply the National Institutes of Health (NIH) cost management guidelines in making National Research Service Awards (NRSA) and Research Career Awards. Additional information is available in the associated NHLBI FY 2015 Funding and Operating Guidelines.

NRSA Stipend Levels

NRSA awards will be issued at the FY 2015 stipend levels in the NIH Guide Notice (NOT-OD-15-048) dated December 30, 2014.

Career Level

Stipend for FY 2015

Predoctoral

$22,920

Postdoctoral Years of Experience

0

$42,840

1

$44,556

2

$46,344

3

$48,192

4

$50,112

5

$52,116

6

$54,216

7 or more

$56,376

Competing Institutional NRSA - Training Grants:

Applications for NRSA Institutional Grants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year must obtain, prior to submission, NHLBI agreement to accept their applications for consideration. This policy applies to new competing, renewal/competing continuation, and resubmission/amended applications. Requests must be received by the NHLBI no later than 6 weeks prior to the application receipt dates. Without this advance acceptance, applications will be returned by the Center for Scientific Review.

Amended Applications: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announce a change in policy on application submissions. Effective immediately, for application due dates after April 16, 2014, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, applicants may submit the same idea as a new (A0) application for the next appropriate due date. The NIH and AHRQ will not assess the similarity of the science in the new (A0) application to any previously reviewed submission when accepting an application for review. Although a new (A0) application does not allow an introduction or responses to the previous reviews, the NIH and AHRQ encourage applicants to refine and strengthen all application submissions. (See NOT-OD-14-074).

Receipt dates for competing applications:

January 25 - The NHLBI will accept all types of competing T32 applications (new, renewal, resubmission/amended, revision) on this date.

September 25 - Only resubmission/amended T32 applications will be accepted on this date.

Multiple PIs on NRSA Institutional Awards:

Please note that more than one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI), i.e., multiple PDs/PIs may be designated on the application for training programs (T32 and T35) that require a team approach and therefore clearly do not fit the single PD/PI model, e.g., interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary training.

Award Date:

New competing awards for T32 grants will be issued as early as February. Competing Renewals will usually follow the dates of the last non-competing end date.

Funding Policy

The following strategies to manage the number of Full-Time Training Positions (FTTPs) will enable the Institute to support a greater number of meritorious training programs.

Limits on FTTPs for New and Renewal/competing continuation T32s. (Short-Term/Summer positions need not be included when considering the limit.)

New programs (Type 1) may request no more than 8 FTTPs.

Renewal Applications (Type 2) that entail a change of program director since the prior Competing (Type 1 or Type 2) application will be capped at 8 FTTPs.

Renewal Applications (Type 2) that had 12 or fewer FTTPs during the last non-competing award will be capped at 12.

Renewal Applications (Type 2) that had more than 12 FTTPS during the last non-competing award will be capped at the same number of slots.

Travel

NHLBI allows renewal (competing) T32 applications to request up to $1,400 a year per predoctoral or postdoctoral trainee for travel to scientific meetings.

Training Related Expenses and Tuition/Fees will be awarded at the levels reflected in the December 30, 2014 Notice (NOT-OD-15-048) in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

Exchanging Pre and Postdoctoral Slots:

A T32 program may exchange pre- and postdoctoral slots, pursuant to the availability of funds and subject to the following: the T32 program must have been peer reviewed for both pre- and postdoctoral training; and must receive prior approval from the NHLBI because of the potential budgetary differences in the slots and the programmatic determination that is appropriate for each individual situation.

Individual NRSA - Fellowships:

Stipends and Institutional Allowances for Individual Fellows will be awarded at the levels reflected in the December 30, 2014 Notice (NOT-OD-15-048) in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

Career Development Awards - K Series

The maximum salary for recipients of K01, K02, K08, K23, K25 and the initial phase of the K99/R00 Research Career Awards is $75,000 per year plus commensurate fringe benefits for full-time professional effort (i.e., 9 calendar months to 12 calendar months). The salaries for these K awards must be consistent with both the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned.

The total cost for the extramural phase of the K22 may not exceed $249,000 per year. The amount includes salary, fringe benefits, research support allowance and applicable facilities and administrative costs (8%). Consortium F&A is included in the total cost limitation.

Current and former recipients of K12 or KL2 support may apply for the K01, K08, K22, K23, and K25 provided that they have no more than three years of K12/KL2 support by the time the K01, K08, K22, K23, or K25 award is issued. The combined total of K12/KL2 plus K01, K08, K22, K23, or K25 support must not exceed 6 years.

A candidate for the K01, K08, K22, K23, and K25 may not concurrently apply for or have an award pending for any other NIH career development award.

The NHLBI Research Career Development Award Programs (with the exception of the K24) require recipients to devote at least 9 calendar months effort per year of their full time professional effort to research-related activities. It is possible for a recipient to devote 12 calendar months effort to research-related activities. However, because the NHLBI believes it is important for the clinically prepared to keep abreast of clinical practice, the recipient may be able to devote the remaining 3 calendar months effort to patient care or other clinical activities.

The actual salary provided by the NHLBI supported K24 awards is based on the candidate's level of effort and their full-time, 12-month institutional salary up to the maximum legislated salary rate in effect at the time of award. The K24 now requires 3 calendar months effort for K24 competing applications submitted.

The K07 grant mechanism is not listed above since those awards are issued in response to a specific RFA, in which allowable costs are specifically identified in the RFA.

Non-Competing Renewal:

The NHLBI will award the recommended level for FY 2015 as shown on the last Notice of Grant Award as appropriations permit.